President Bolsonaro Faces Impeachment Over COVID-19 Situation in Brazil

First Published: 17th of January, 2021

President’s Bolsonaro’s political opposition has presented a request for his impeachment on the grounds of the chaos in the Amazonas Region of Brazil.

Opposition parties to the federal government released, last Friday, 15th of January, 2021, a letter announcing that they will submit a new impeachment request against President Jair Bolsonaro (without a party) due to the health crisis in the Amazonas. The state is facing an increase in cases and deaths from COVID-19 and, recently, a lack of oxygen in hospitals. The text is signed by representatives of the parties Rede, PSB, PT, PCdoB and PDT.

According to them, Bolsonaro should be held responsible for leaving the Amazonas without oxygen and for acting contrary to measures of social distancing, the use of masks and for “spreading misinformation.”

“Considering the practice of serial liability crimes, which resulted in the asphyxiating pain of Amazonas and thousands of Brazilian families, our parties – Rede, PSB, PT, PCdoB and PDT – decided to submit a new impeachment request against President Jair Bolsonaro. The President of the Republic must be politically and criminally responsible for leaving the Amazonas without oxygen, for sabotaging research and vaccination campaigns, for discouraging the use of masks and encouraging the use of ineffective drugs, for spreading disinformation, and for violating the constitutional pact between the Union, States and Municipalities,” reads an excerpt from the letter.

The text calls for reaction by the National Congress to the president’s actions and also calls for actions to be taken to collaborate with the fight against the covid-19 pandemic. “Brazil is dying suffocated by this president. Enough! It is past time for the National Congress, representing the nation, to react. We also advocate that the Congress start working again immediately to approve measures that can collaborate decisively to remedy the serious problems that victimize the population of the Amazonas and all of Brazil,” continues the letter.

The signatories are:

Carlos Siqueira – President of PSB

Gleisi Hoffman – President of PT

Luciana Santos – President of PCdoB

Carlos Lupi – President of PDT

José Guimarães – Leader of the minority in the Chamber

Joenia Wapichana – Leader of the Network

Alessandro Molon – Leader of the PSB

Enio Verri – Leader of the PT

Perpétua Almeida – Leader of the PCdoB

Wolney Queiroz – Leader of the PDT

Carlos Zarattini – Leader of the minority in the STF

Congress gives 48h to the government to present an action plan for the Amazonas. Minister Ricardo Lewandowski of the STF (Supreme Federal Court) gave the federal government 48 hours to present a detailed plan of the strategies adopted to deal with the health crisis in Amazonas.

Lewandowski also demands that the government “promotes, immediately, all the actions in its power to solve the very serious sanitary crisis precipitated in Manaus.”

This demand accompanies a request made by the PCdoB and PT parties “regarding specifically the absolutely unconstitutional issue experienced by the population of the state of Amazonas, especially in the capital Manaus, regarding contagion by the COVID-19.”